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Jul 13

Meet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Our Newest Ally

by Brian Moniz

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a name every American needs to learn, whether for better or worse. She’s the tough, straight-to-the-point, twenty-eight-year-old Latina Democratic Socialist from the Bronx who, with no major high rollers backing up her campaign, defeated incumbent and potential future Democratic Speaker of the House, Joseph Crowley. Her message was heard loud and clear by New York voters that this country needs to be represented by hard-working people who will work for all people, and not just the ones in your own community.

Ocasio-Cortez first came into the political world when she announced her run for Crowley’s seat earlier this year, claiming “His kids don’t go to the same schools your kids do.” Her message of getting working people into the government is really catching fire in the same way Trump’s campaign did, but with one major difference — unlike Trump, Ocasio-Cortez isn’t a pathological liar and a con-artist; she really means what she says and isn’t inciting fear to manipulate vulnerable people into voting for her.

Let’s dip into some of Ocasio-Cortez’s major progressive political positions:

She believes strongly in a woman’s right to choose for herself and that equal pay is due for equal work regardless of gender.

Has been very supportive of the LGBTQ community, who helped lift her campaign across all platforms of social media during the primaries.

Supports African Americans and spoke at a Black Lives Matter rally back in 2017 to stop police brutality against people of color.

Believes that jobs and Medicare in America should be guaranteed rights, not privileges.

She opposes major corporations and oil companies backing climate-change-deniers and wants to get big money out of politics altogether to allow middle-class America to have a stronger voice in elections.

She is piggybacking the messages of Bernie Sanders of free college, free healthcare, and better gun restrictions.

During the campaign, Ocasio-Cortez spoke out about her plan to fight for Trump’s impeachment, claiming, among so many other violations, that he has clearly violated the Emoluments Clause — which states that no President can receive money or gifts from foreign countries or other world leaders.

She believes in helping Puerto Rico, not only with disaster relief after Hurricane Maria, but also giving them better human rights and safeties granted to American Citizens.

She’s putting her money where her mouth is and getting into the political game to change whatever she can with a vast number of fed-up Democratic Millennials behind her. This is a woman whose entire campaign didn’t have one-third of the money Crowley had, (in fact, her office was only a desk in the back corner of a small, dilapidated taxi-cab company), but what she did have was voters ready to move heaven and earth to campaign for her. For months, social media was drowning in pro-Ocasio-Cortez campaign advertisements. She used what little tools she had to secure the win, sending a clear message that the Democratic Party needs new blood and we need it now. Longtime prominent Democratic voices like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, and Maxine Waters are all highly intelligent, hard-working men and women, but they just aren’t leading the party in a way that excites young, frustrated voters to rush to the polls. If all you run on is “anti-Trump”, then people get bored, because trust me, we’re all already anti-Trump, so what else do you have? It’s not enough to just say what you are against, you must run on what you are for.

If she is as successful as we all hope, Ocasio-Cortez will be the Jackie Robinson of how we, progressives, change this country back to the way it should be for the better, and, along the way, will cut off the head of the snake that is Trump and his corrupt party. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the type of player who you hate going up against, but you would love to get her on your team, and we’ve got her! We can’t let her down. No matter where you live, we all must stick together if we have any hope of ripping this country back from the ugly, corrupt, evil that has taken over. Let her victory remind you that winning is possible! And if you say, “Yes, but she is in a blue district, anyway, a Democrat is going to win no matter what,” let me remind you that our friend and transgender trailblazer, Danica Roem, ran against a longtime homophobic Republican incumbent in Virginia and steamrolled over him all the way to the polls.

Democrats, Liberals, and Progressives, we have the numbers, we just don’t get out and vote! If anyone tells you this upcoming November election is the most important election of your life — believe them — because it is! If we ever wanted to stop this foolish, bigoted, sexist, homophobic, ignorant pig we call a President, this upcoming mid-term election is how we do it. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading by example that this is where we start!

About the Author:

Brian Moniz is a 29-year-old man from San Jose, Calif. He studied filmmaking and writing at San Jose State University from 2010–2013 and got his bachelor’s degree in Radio-TV-Film. Throughout his high school and college years, he worked as a music and movie journalist and critic. Having only recently come out of the closet himself in 2014, Brian enjoys writing about LGBTQ issues. His only regret when it comes to his sexuality is that he didn’t come out sooner. Read more by Brian here.